Canadians finish tied for sixth at world amateur team golf championship

Waterloo Region Record

ANTALYA, TURKEY - Mackenzie Hughes, Albin Choi and Corey Conners combined for a 1-over par 143 in the final round Sunday as Canada finished tied for sixth at the rain-shortened World Amateur Team Championship.

The Canadian trio posted a 11-under par 417 to finish tied with Norway 13 strokes back of the United States squad of Chris Williams, Justin Thomas, and Steven Fox. It was the 14th Eisenhower Trophy for the Americans, who posted a 54-hole score of 24-under par 404.

Teams were forced to complete the third and final round on Sunday morning after play was suspended because of darkness on Saturday evening. The biennial stroke-play event had been shortened to 54 holes due to weather.

With four birdies on the back-nine, including three consecutive birdies on holes 14 to 16 on the PGA Sultan Course, Conners posted a final-round 1-under 70, while Choi and Hughes shot 2-over 73 and 4-over 75, respectively, to close out the championship.

“Mackenzie, Albin and Corey represented Canada and themselves in a first-class manner, and will benefit and learn from this great experience and so will I,”

“Sixth place isn’t what the guys wanted, but I am very proud of the effort and professionalism the group showed throughout the championship," said Canada’s coach Derek Ingram in a statement. "We didn’t have our best stuff in the final round, but the guys battled the entire way.”

Mexico was second at 19-under 409, while defending champions France, Republic of Korea and Germany finished tied for third at 15-under 413.

Hughes, who hails from Dundas, Ont., topped the Canadian contingent. He tied for 19th with a 54-hole tally of 4-under 210, 11 strokes back of two-time reigning Mexican Amateur champion Sebastian Vazquez.

Vazquez bested the field individually with a score of 15-under 199, one stroke better than Williams, the top-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Toronto's Choi and Conners, of Listowel, Ont., both finished tied for 33rd at 1-under 213.

The World Amateur Team Championship has been played since 1958. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Jack Nicklaus all played at the event before turning pro.